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frankpijnenburg
 Post subject: WD5000AAKS-00TMA0 seems dead - no noise
PostPosted: March 11th, 2013, 8:31 
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Joined: March 8th, 2013, 6:22
Posts: 11
Location: Netherlands
Hi,

After spending hours reading through these forums, I've decided to ask you for help.
My folks' HDD with all their important data crashed. Unfortunately, the term 'backup' didn't sound too familiar to them :roll:

The HDD doesn't make any noise when powering on, so I'd reckon it's the PCB. I've learned from my research that just replacing the PCB will not suffice without soldering the EEPROM onto the donor PCB, which I can't.

The drive is a Western Digital and these are the details:
MDL: WD5000AAKS-00TMA0
Date: 05 Aug 2007
DCM: HHNCHV2MHB

I was hoping that some of you heroes could guide me through measuring the diodes/resistors with my multimeter in order to determine where the culprit lies.

It doesn't look like a chip burned out, but if required I can post a picture somewhere.

Thanks in advance!
Frank
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frankpijnenburg
 Post subject: Re: WD5000AAKS-00TMA0 seems dead - no noise
PostPosted: March 11th, 2013, 9:54 
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Joined: March 8th, 2013, 6:22
Posts: 11
Location: Netherlands
Hi Spildit. Thanks for the quick reply!

Yes, I'm aware of the risks of a DYI recovery. Still, it's indeed always good to point it out.
To answer your questions:
1 - Yes, the computer starts up without a problem. The drive just isn't recognized anymore (neither in BIOS, nor in OS)
2 - No, the drive does not spin at all when the 12V is connected to it.
3 - http://postimage.org/image/72buq41pz/
4 - Tested it and the spindle does indeed NOT run.

It would be great if somebody could swap the ROM from the damaged PCB to the donor PCB. I live in the Netherlands, so Portugal would be an option. If all else fails, I'll PM you for pricing details etc.
In this topic: http://community.wdc.com/t5/External-Dr ... td-p/12041, the fix was to cut the diode that would prevent the drive from working.. Would that be an option here as well? If required, I can measure the diodes/resistors with a multimeter.
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sathyan
 Post subject: Re: WD5000AAKS-00TMA0 seems dead - no noise
PostPosted: March 11th, 2013, 11:25 
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Joined: August 21st, 2012, 12:15
Posts: 285
Location: India
@ frankpijnenburg

According to the image,u12 is not populated .
ROM is in the MCU , and swapping that chip is not DIY.
You need pro help on this one
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frankpijnenburg
 Post subject: Re: WD5000AAKS-00TMA0 seems dead - no noise
PostPosted: March 11th, 2013, 11:35 
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Joined: March 8th, 2013, 6:22
Posts: 11
Location: Netherlands
sathyan, what do you mean by 'not populated'?
I've figured out what (R)esistors, (D)iodes and (C)ondensators are, but I'm not sure what the U stands for and what its function is...

I was afraid this required pro help :( Is there anybody providing pro services in the Netherlands?
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frankpijnenburg
 Post subject: Re: WD5000AAKS-00TMA0 seems dead - no noise
PostPosted: March 11th, 2013, 11:57 
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Joined: March 8th, 2013, 6:22
Posts: 11
Location: Netherlands
OK, so U12 (U = Integrated Circuit or microchip) is an empty spot where normally the ROM would be soldered on. Since it's empty, the ROM must be part of the MCU (MicroController Unit) - gosh, I'm learning a lot today :-)

I'll see if I can find a PCB supplier that will also re-program the ROM here in the Netherlands.

@Spildit, thanks for your offer! If I can't find a more convenient solution, I'll definitely contact you.
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drc
 Post subject: Re: WD5000AAKS-00TMA0 seems dead - no noise
PostPosted: March 11th, 2013, 12:13 
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Joined: August 12th, 2008, 13:11
Posts: 3235
Location: USA
frankpijnenburg wrote:
I was afraid this required pro help :( Is there anybody providing pro services in the Netherlands?


Member dobrevjetser is located in Belgium and comes highly recommended.

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frankpijnenburg
 Post subject: Re: WD5000AAKS-00TMA0 seems dead - no noise
PostPosted: March 11th, 2013, 13:00 
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Joined: March 8th, 2013, 6:22
Posts: 11
Location: Netherlands
Thanks drc. I've checked his website for a pricing indication. I'll ask my parents if they are willing to spend this amount of money to get their data back.
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dick
 Post subject: Re: WD5000AAKS-00TMA0 seems dead - no noise
PostPosted: March 11th, 2013, 13:14 
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Joined: January 8th, 2008, 5:21
Posts: 927
Location: uk
With power off test r64 and r68 for continuity. if they are ok then isolate J1 on the pcb with a strip of thin card. Then power on and if it dosn't spin up then you are in trouble and will need local pro assistance. In fact you are going to need it anyway as you already know the rom data has to be transfered to any replacement pcb. For your info my money is on a faulty preamp. Good luck!
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frankpijnenburg
 Post subject: Re: WD5000AAKS-00TMA0 seems dead - no noise
PostPosted: March 11th, 2013, 13:26 
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Joined: March 8th, 2013, 6:22
Posts: 11
Location: Netherlands
Hi Dick,

I can't find R68.. Did you mean R67? R64 and R67 both measure 0,5 ohms.
I've already isolated J1 to see if the power reaches the spindle. See answer 4 at the top of this post. Unfortunately the spindle won't spin up..
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frankpijnenburg
 Post subject: Re: WD5000AAKS-00TMA0 seems dead - no noise
PostPosted: March 11th, 2013, 14:13 
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Joined: March 8th, 2013, 6:22
Posts: 11
Location: Netherlands
Meanwhile I've contacted my parents and they told me that spending 500+ euros is too much. Guess their data wasn't THAT important. So now this has become a play and learn project for me I guess.

With my the black pin of my multimeter connected to a ground and the red pin poking on the PCB while supplying the PCB with power, I've found that D3 and D4 give 5V and 12V and pins 6 and 20 on J1 also give 5V. Seems like J1 is actually fine. When poking on J6, all 4 pins give 0V. I'm a complete electronics n00b, but if there was a PCB layout, I might be able to find the defective component.
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dick
 Post subject: Re: WD5000AAKS-00TMA0 seems dead - no noise
PostPosted: March 11th, 2013, 15:33 
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Joined: January 8th, 2008, 5:21
Posts: 927
Location: uk
frankpijnenburg wrote:
Hi Dick,

I can't find R68.. Did you mean R67? R64 and R67 both measure 0,5 ohms.
I've already isolated J1 to see if the power reaches the spindle. See answer 4 at the top of this post. Unfortunately the spindle won't spin up..
Yes, sorry I did mean r67.
Have you checked the motor windings for breaks? Or maybe it is the pcb then?
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frankpijnenburg
 Post subject: Re: WD5000AAKS-00TMA0 seems dead - no noise
PostPosted: March 12th, 2013, 8:03 
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Joined: March 8th, 2013, 6:22
Posts: 11
Location: Netherlands
With the very kind help of Spildit, I was able to find a donor PCB + ROM transfer service. Now fingers crossed..
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frankpijnenburg
 Post subject: Re: WD5000AAKS-00TMA0 seems dead - no noise
PostPosted: March 28th, 2013, 15:48 
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Joined: March 8th, 2013, 6:22
Posts: 11
Location: Netherlands
Just a follow up to let you guys know how this ended. Donor Drives just received my hard drive and this was their reply after analysis:

Quote:
Dear Frank,

Our technician finished the diagnostics of your hard drive and was able to determine that the original PCB is defective and required a replacement. We used the board you purchased from us and after a necessary adaptation, were able to test the drive for any additional failures it might had.
Unfortunately we determined that it also had suffered from a head failure. The hard drive HDA (Head Disk Assembly) contains multiple heads that are in charge of reading the data from the platter surface and it appears that one or more of them are defective. Generally this happens after a hard drive suffered from a physical damage, or in some more rare cases, due to a power surge. Regular wear or a manufacturing defect may also cause it, since the platters move at thousands of rounds per minute it is only natural that a slight defect during the manufacturing process may limit the HDD lifespan.

The Head Crash is considered a mechanical failure and in order to retrieve any valuable information that is located on the drive, an advanced data recovery service is required. A quote for such service is attached in this e-mail. If you’d rather not proceed with the recovery, we will generate a return shipping quote for you. Alternatively, we can securely dispose of your failed HDD free of charge. We are very sorry that your hard drive failure could not be solved by a less expensive means. Please get back with us if you have any other questions about any of the proceedures and processes. We will gladly go over everything with you.


Unfortunately the quote they gave me was far too expensive, so this story has a bad end. :(
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fzabkar
 Post subject: Re: WD5000AAKS-00TMA0 seems dead - no noise
PostPosted: March 28th, 2013, 16:55 
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Joined: September 8th, 2009, 18:21
Posts: 16955
Location: Australia
When you receive the drive, let me know and I'll help you measure the various voltage test points on the board. That might at least tell us how and why the board failed.

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A backup a day keeps DR away.
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fzabkar
 Post subject: Re: WD5000AAKS-00TMA0 seems dead - no noise
PostPosted: March 28th, 2013, 19:24 
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Joined: September 8th, 2009, 18:21
Posts: 16955
Location: Australia
The proprietor of Donor Drives is a forum member (porthas). The outcome makes me feel very uncomfortable, too. If it had been any other data recovery firm, then I would be extremely suspicious.

AISI, it should still be possible to read the embedded ROM code, even on a dead board, provided that the MCU is alive. It just needs a little bit of work.

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A backup a day keeps DR away.
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pcimage
 Post subject: Re: WD5000AAKS-00TMA0 seems dead - no noise
PostPosted: March 28th, 2013, 19:30 
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Joined: November 29th, 2006, 10:08
Posts: 7864
Location: UK
Spildit wrote:
I'm upset,
I'm very, very upset with this outcome, as i was the one who sugest to aquire a PCB from that particular supplyer and ended up not working at all.
Sorry if i gave you a false hope of getting the data back and at the end it was diferent then expected ....

I hve a bad feeling about this. I gave you very bad advice, and because of that the sittuation might be now way worse .....

I'm really very sorry,upset, and sad.
It was a very bad decision to send in the entire drive instead of sending just the PCB, and i commited a mistake of telling you that you should send in the entire drive.

I'm very, very sorry, and i've learned my lesson too.

:( :( :( :(



Don't feel bad Spildit, not your fault. It would seem that the problem was more than PCB, which is more common than you think.

I have no hesitation in saying that porthas is being completely honest, he has nothing to gain by lying. Nor would I expect lying from any decent DR pro.

Your advice wasn't "bad" just a little optimistic! :-)

If we can help the OP for a decent price, we will. But it won't be $50

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frankpijnenburg
 Post subject: Re: WD5000AAKS-00TMA0 seems dead - no noise
PostPosted: March 29th, 2013, 2:21 
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Joined: March 8th, 2013, 6:22
Posts: 11
Location: Netherlands
First of all: Spildit, don't feel bad or upset! I'm very happy with all the help and advice you gave me! It's not your fault that this happened!
According to Donor Drives, chances of getting your data back are higher when sending the entire drive instead of just the PCB, because they can perform a check-up of the drive as well. After thoroughly checking Donor Drives' website for a privacy statement and getting a 100% comfortable that they would treat the data on the drive confidentially, I indeed ended up sending the entire drive.

fzabkar, I'll let you know when I receive the drive back. Thanks!
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porthas
 Post subject: Re: WD5000AAKS-00TMA0 seems dead - no noise
PostPosted: March 30th, 2013, 16:02 
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Joined: May 27th, 2010, 15:45
Posts: 153
Location: US
Just FYI, I have looked into your project, and the preamp was indeed an issue, besides the PCB. It does happen, and there is nothing that we can do about it. The quote provided was a quote from a company in USA, and it isn't our service. We have the original copy of the quote. We are sorry that this was the outcome, and sadly there is no way to know in advance whether this is going to be an issue.
If anyone else is going to look at your drive, please post their diagnostics. I just want to make sure that other people won't get discouraged using our service, just because your drive had a more advanced failure.
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fzabkar
 Post subject: Re: WD5000AAKS-00TMA0 seems dead - no noise
PostPosted: March 30th, 2013, 16:39 
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Joined: September 8th, 2009, 18:21
Posts: 16955
Location: Australia
porthas wrote:
The quote provided was a quote from a company in USA, and it isn't our service. We have the original copy of the quote.

Your web site gives me the impression that you actually do the firmware transfers and "PCB adaptations" (where the ROM is damaged) yourselves, and that you outsource everything else. Are you now saying that both these jobs are done by a third party? If not, can you clarify what it is that you actually do?

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porthas
 Post subject: Re: WD5000AAKS-00TMA0 seems dead - no noise
PostPosted: March 30th, 2013, 17:25 
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Joined: May 27th, 2010, 15:45
Posts: 153
Location: US
@fzabkat. We offer Diagnostics, ROM / NV-RAM Swap, ROM Adaptation, NV-RAM Adaptation (time consuming), and data extraction service (only for mechanically, electronically, and firmware functional drives, price within $100 range, and advisable for customers that may have logical hard drive failures).
We outsource - mechanical and firmware failed hard drives.

@Spildit - you are 100% right. In this email, a template has been used. We try to be detailed but not technically oriented. Although we weren't 100% correct with the description of the failure due to an email template, the truth is that the diagnostics are what they are. The only way to verify legititimacy of our diagnostics is to have someone else perform a second look. I can assure you that it will be exactly as we said.

PS. Let me know if I can clear something else out. I am very straight up and don't like to look shady in any sort of way
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